The Line
by sour gummies
Summary: Wally wonders, sometimes, how all of this happened: how he and his best friend grew up to become exactly the people they had least wanted to be five years ago. —Wally, Dick. An unheard phone conversation taking place mid-Invasion.


a/n: Before you tell me that Wally isn't being fair in his accusations, I already know. That's half the point.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Wally's hands shake on the phone. "You once told me that you didn't want to be like _him_ when you grew up, Dick Grayson," he says flatly. He doesn't have to explain who it is he's talking about. "You said you didn't want to grow up to become—to _become_ him, the person who always thought of the mission before everything else. You said that wasn't who you _were_."

Wally's voice sounds far, far calmer than he actually is right now. For that, he is grateful. He's holding onto the phone so tightly he thinks it might splinter in his hands.

At the other end of the line, Nightwing falls silent for a moment.

"I told you not to use civilian names during transmissions," he finally says, his voice tight and clipped. Grim. Practical. "There's too much chance someone might listen in, or even get a recording if we aren't careful. If you really feel the need to go over this, _again_, we'll do it face-to-face. I'm on a mission now. But in two days you can—"

"Don't bother," Wally snaps bitterly. There's no point shouting anymore, not when the person hearing him is separated by more than the physical distance, completely closed off behind a mask. "Just _listen_ to yourself, Grayson. You've already become him."

On the other end of the line, Nightwing huffs in irritation. "I'm not talking to you while you're like this, KF," he says flatly. His voice is strained and tired, annoyed; but completely unrepentant. And that frustrates Wally more than anything else.

"You know what? Never mind. I take it back," Wally says, sneering even though Dick can't see it through the phone. "You haven't become him. You're actually _worse_ than him. At least Batman actually respected us! And Batman never killed anybody."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nightwing snarls, finally losing his composure—still human like the rest of them, however much he'd like to pretend otherwise. "I haven't killed anyone, either!"

"You tell that to Kaldur's family!" Wally shouts back, losing his temper. "_You_ tell that to Artemis's mother! Tell that to the Kroloteans on Malina Island!"

"Kaldur and Artemis aren't dead!" Nightwing snaps at him.

"Not yet," Wally hisses. "But come on, _Boy Wonder._ This has gone too far. Do you honestly believe that everyone's going to be able to walk away from this one in the end?"

Nightwing doesn't shout again. He probably already regrets letting himself slip that far. "Those are all necessary risks," he finally says at the other end of the line. "We've taken every precaution to keep everyone safe. _I've _taken every precaution."

"And what if those precautions aren't enough?" Wally demands. "What if Kaldur really is a traitor? What if Black Manta finds out? You can't plan for everything. Not even Batman could plan for everything."

"They—They knew the risks going on," Nightwing says, his voice heavy. "They knew what might happen."

Wally hears static roaring in his ears, and it has nothing to do with the phone in his hand. "So, you're prepared to just let them die?" he asks, his voice raw with anger.

"Kid—"

"Don't!" Wally shouts. "Just don't, Dick! You haven't learned anything, have you? Have you already forgotten what happened to Tula? What happened to your own_ brother?_"

"That wasn't—"

"Was he not enough? Will you even _mourn_ the next kid who falls into enemy hands on your orders, who gets tortured and humiliated and _murdered_—"

"Jason died a hero!"

"JASON DIED!" Wally roars, smashing his fist down onto his kitchen table so hard the wood creaks under his hand. "What part of that do you not understand, Dick? Why do you think we quit the Team in the first place?"

Nightwing goes quiet. "So now you're trying to tell me that you cared more about Robin than I did?" he asks, his voice soft and dangerous even through the phone.

"I'm trying to tell you that you're not half the team leader you think you are," Wally spits, more disgusted than he's ever felt in his life. "At least Kaldur knew when to call it quits. He may have been an idiot to try and infiltrate Black Manta's organization, but at least that was _his_ decision alone. At least he never gambled with anyone's else's lives."

Wally pauses, grapples with himself for a moment, then adds savagely: "You know who does that, Dick? _The Joker_."

The line goes dead. Nightwing has hung up on him. Wally narrows his eyes—on a sudden compulsion, he lets out a scream of anger and throws his phone across the room with all his strength. It smashes to pieces of metal against the wall.

"...Artemis," he whispers, his voice cracking.


End file.
